January 14, 2013
And the winner is…
America is an ongoing awards ceremony.
Some say that we’re a nation of immigrants. That sounds like a great equalizer, but that’s a narrow view. Truth is, we’re really a nation of winners and losers.
In the last couple of days, the winner badge was pinned on groups called Patriots, 49ers, Ravens and Falcons. Give it another week: about 90 of those guys will still be winners, and another 90 will pack up their lockers and head off somewhere. If you aren’t a winner, you don’t have a “next week…”
Three elections back, Al Gore went to court hoping to be declared a winner. The Supremes – not the four singers who never won the Grammy, but the seven judges who never won an election – told Al that they reviewed the live-action video from the field, and gave George W. Bush the ball. Al Gore went home from Florida with his chads hanging, labeled “loser.”
Boy, did he get his revenge. Al Gore and Al Jazeera made sweet music a couple of weeks ago, and the cable channel with a national audience of 45,000 viewers – about the size of Joel Osteen’s church in Houston – traded hands. Mr. Gore handed the keys to the Arabic version of CNN, in return for a personal payday of $100 million. His post-politics winnings are estimated at $300 million; that’s the inconvenient truth…
Chris Christie has been in the news, but this week he’s on the cover of Time magazine – with the headline, “The Boss.” Unedited, he looks like a “before” picture for Nutrisystem. The latest scientific predictors say that a man with a belt size greater than 36 is facing chronic health issues and a shortened life expectancy. Some Republicans are hoping that Christie makes it to 2016; the man who couldn’t run to catch a bus may be the only one who could run the Washington Marathon in ‘16 and end up at the White House. The winner who needs to lose…
Tonight, Lance Armstrong will enter the confessional of The Divine Miss O (Oprah) and bare his soul, or at least as much as he thinks necessary to achieve redemption. In 1996, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer; the health battle included his brain and his lungs. He spent the next year on the offensive, with surgery and chemotherapy. In 1997, his doctors declared him a winner. Then, Mr. A rode his bike in France; and the Tour d’ folks hung the medal around his neck seven times, declaring him the winner. Last year, The USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) took away the victories, and banned him from any sports competition of any kind, for life. He lost sponsors, trophies, titles… and now faces the possibility of claw-back civil lawsuits brought by people economically affected by his past sins. If only Oprah could say it ain’t so…
Last night, Argo – a spy thriller, based on the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 – won “Best Picture” at the Golden Globes. The losers included Lincoln. I wonder if ol’ Honest Abe could hook up with Al Gore and find a way to make a few bucks and restore his self worth…
Winners and losers; we’re committed to the consumption of competition. Life seems to hang on a declaration of victory. It makes for exciting television and tailgate parties, but where – and, why – is winning so embedded in our DNA?
Here’s the ultimate insight, from the Ultimate Authority:“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:24-25).
What matters isn’t winning here; it’s all about winning there. Follow Jesus, and you win; ignore Jesus, and you lose. How many winners – down here
– need to discover the strategy for the ultimate victory?
Bob Shank